Greek Police, Public Worker Corruption Soars

While Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, like his predecessors, has vowed to crack down on corruption, the problem is getting worse in the police department and among civil servants during the country’s crushing economic crisis, a Greek Police special task force reported on April 2.

The report said bribery and wrongdoing are out of control and rising rapidly among the police and public workers, especially in health care services where doctors still demand an under-the-table fee for work for which they are also paid by the state and as many of them evade taxes at the same time.

The data collected by the anti-corruption force showed that in 2012 it investigated a total of 1,060 cases, or 263 more than it did in 2011, marking a 33 percent increase. Of these, 710 (or 66.9 percent) concerned police officers, 260 concerned employees of the broader public sector and 67 were cases brought against individuals, the newspaper Kathimerini reported.

In the public sector, complaints of corruption by citizens nearly doubled, jumping 94.6 percent in 2012 compared to the previous year, with the majority of the 535 complaints processed concerning employees at local authorities (152) and regional authorities (63.) The report also noted that 20 police officers were arrested in 2012 on charges ranging from physical abuse of a prisoner to theft and embezzlement.

Meanwhile, of the country’s total of 53,980 police officers and border guards in 2012, 876 failed to submit a declaration of provenance of wealth (“pothen esches”), with criminal charges brought against 116 officers who failed to adequately explain the source of their assets. The Athens office of the NGO Transparency International has reported similar findings.

3 COMMENTS

Things aren’t getting worse corruption wise as Che Dablis spins it. Things are getting better. The government has just dedicating far more resources to finally cracking down on corruption. Little of this corruption was reported until Greece went over a financial abyss. Leftists like comrade Andy were content in their self-righteous little world as long as their government money and services kept rolling in.

The leftists claim to be against corruption. Putting aside most these tax cheats seem to be leftists, this is why leftists also support stealing from the rich to fund themselves. Leftists have no moral responsibility for their own lives. When they have no money its because everyone else is to blame except themselves.

A Democratic state lawmaker was arrested along with five other politicians Tuesday in an alleged plot to pay tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to GOP bosses to let him run for mayor of New York City as a Republican. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called it an “unappetizing smorgasbord of graft and greed” that reveals a New York political culture defined by a single rule: “Show me the money.”Malcolm Smith, 56, who has served at times as the state Senate’s majority and minority leader since becoming a senator in March 2000, was arrested along with Republican New York City Councilman Dan Halloran, 42, and four other political figures. Smith, who was removed Tuesday from his leadership post in Albany, had not yet officially launched a campaign for mayor — the first New York City mayoral race in twelve years without Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Smith “tried to bribe his way to a shot at Gracie Mansion,” Bharara said, referring to the official mayor’s residence. “Smith drew up the game plan and Councilman Halloran essentially quarterbacked that drive by finding party chairmen who were wide open to receiving bribes. A criminal complaint said that in meetings with a cooperating witness and an undercover FBI agent posing as a wealthy real estate developer, Smith agreed to bribe up to five leaders of Republican Party county committees in the five boroughs of New York City so he could run for mayor as a Republican, even though he was a registered Democrat. Bharara said $80,000 in cash was promised or paid to Bronx County Republican Party Chairman Joseph Savino, 45, and Queens County Republican Party Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone, 46, who were both arrested Tuesday. The government said Halloran told the undercover agent that he wanted to get his “mortgage situation
resolved” and to be named deputy police commissioner if Smith were elected mayor.
Smith said in a statement that he’ll be vindicated. His lawyer, Gerald L. Shargel, said his client denies wrongdoing. “Malcolm Smith is a dedicated public servant who has served both the state of New York and his constituents in an exemplary fashion,” Shargel
said. “He steadfastly denies the allegations that are contained in the complaint”. The article in Y-A-H-O-O- if anyone interested to read…

U.S. National Institute of Justice: ~ Five Things Law Enforcement Executives Can Do To Make A Difference. http://nij.gov/five-things
U.S. DoD study on random polygraphs for personnel. http://t.co/Tr7uafTd
“the polygraph is the single most effective tool for finding information people were trying to hide.” – DoD, NSA
Make policy that polygraphs for new recruits expire every 2yrs. http://shar.es/epfm2
RANDOM. ROUTINE. Break the code. Break the culture.